How do we evangelize Protestants?

[Cat]

In the Ask an Apologist section of this Board, Father quotes CCC 848 :

"Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men" (CCC 848, citation from Ad Gentes 7).

(Boldface mine).

My husband and I were evangelical Protestants for over 40 years. We wish that Catholics would have evangelized us a whole lot sooner! We are so grateful that God eventually led us home to the Catholic Church.

We’ve been really giving the question of evangelizing Protestants some thought. We don’t feel right sitting comfortably in Mass enjoying the very Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ while our Protestant brothers and sisters hold a “pageant” of the real thing (Mass). We feel like someone ought to get busy and tell them–come on in, the Church is fine!

So what does everyone else think? How exactly do we evangelize Protestants?

Yes, I agree that we should preach the Gospel and use words if necessary. Hopefully we are all living our lives following Jesus and allowing Him to transform us into holy people, lights in the world.

But surely there comes a time when the Catholic has to actually open their mouth and say something about the Church of Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church. So when exactly do we use words? And what do we say?

My husband has been getting involved with supporting the Micah Project of Michael Cumbie:

mikecumbie.org/

We think this Project might provide some answers to our questions about evangelizing Protestants.

Any other suggestions, anyone?

Thanks!

 

[bengal_fan]

So what does everyone else think? How exactly do we evangelize Protestants?

i think (and i am a protestant) the first thing you need to do in go where protestants are. engage them in friendship. as the friendship develops, and as they see your Christian faith lived out, find the moments to interject truth (as you see it). love them into the church by speaking truth out of that love (not out of a desire to “convince”).

the key is to be where they are and to engage them in friendship.

 

[DebChris]

The Cursillo rule for evangelization:
Make a friend. Be a friend. Bring a friend to Christ.
Living our Faith is the best means of evangelization. Actions, like the practice of common courtesies, speak louder than words.
I agree with bengal fan. There is much misconception concerning what those who wear the title of Christian believe regardless of denomination. I have shared on other posts how I would attend services with my non-Catholic brothers and sisters. I heard prayers for the conversion of Catholics. After the service, the truth of my Catholicism would come out. We would talk about the Resurrection, for instance, which would elicit a shocked “I didn’t know Catholics believed that.” Think little e rather than big E. Live your faith and let God do the rest.

 

[2ndGen]

By “how” you live your life.

Let them see why they should become Catholic by living your faith as perfectly as possible.

 

[Preacher_Vern]

And you say you use to be a Protestant. How can you evangelize us when you can’t evangelize the Catholic?

 

[Pax]

Evangelization can be done in any number of ways. Some Catholics join a parish organization or start one that is interested in going door to door to evangelize. Our parish is interested in evangelizing lapsed Catholics and we have made an effort to personally contact them and visit their homes in order to see if there is anything that we can do to help them return to mass and the sacraments.

One way that I evangelize is through my job. In my office I have a couple of bibles on a shelf and a few other items that show that I am a believer. I doubt that there is even one person in my office that is not aware of the fact that I’m Catholic. This creates all kinds of opportunities for people to ask me questions. I have been good friends with all of the evangelicals and baptists that I have had as fellow employees.

The fact that I am a Catholic first, then an American citizen, and then an employee brings the non-Catholics to me. I do not have to make much of an effort to seek them out. Even the agnostics bring up religion in conversations with me. I even get opportunities when an anti-Catholic makes a slam against the Church. Even the pedophile priest scandal has given me numerous opportunities to discuss the faith. What really keeps them coming back is that I root all of my comments and answers in scripture. We pray for one anothers needs and intentions. These kinds of activities form Christian bonds and build bridges. Perhaps someday conversions will come as well.

Catholics have more opportunities to evangelize then they are aware of. Most people that do not evangelize are probably suffering from a lack of confidence and have not developed the necessary skills to deal with people of other faiths. This can change. I was one of those people.

 

[PBP]

And you say you use to be a Protestant. How can you evangelize us when you can’t evangelize the Catholic?

What flavor of Protestant are you and what makes you more correct than the other tens of thousands of branches of Protestants ?

 

[Cat]

And you say you use to be a Protestant. How can you evangelize us when you can’t evangelize the Catholic?

Sadly, Preacher Vern, I evangelized many, many Catholics (mainly children, since I was involved with children’s ministries) into the Protestant church.

I have confessed this in Reconciliation and praise God, I have been forgiven. What I did was done out of ignorance.

I only pray that those who I dragged away from Christ’s Church will be led back to it by the Holy Spirit.

 

[2ndGen]

Sadly, Preacher Vern, I evangelized many, many Catholics (mainly children, since I was involved with children’s ministries) into the Protestant church.

I have confessed this in Reconciliation and praise God, I have been forgiven. What I did was done out of ignorance.

I only pray that those who I dragged away from Christ’s Church will be led back to it by the Holy Spirit.

Don’t worry, you’ll be alright!

Luke 23:40-43

But the other answered, and rebuking him said,
“Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”

And He said to him,
“Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

 

[mozart-250]

Who says we need evangelizing?

Oh…I’ll admit there are Protestants that don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ just as much as there are Catholics. You can evangelize them as much as you want.

But one who is in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ does not need evangelizing.

 

[2ndGen]

Who says we need evangelizing?

Oh…I’ll admit there are Protestants that don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ just as much as there are Catholics. You can evangelize them as much as you want.

But one who is in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ does not need evangelizing.

And by that “relationship” being lived, no active evangelization will be neccessary.

I agree with you Mozart.

If one lives a righteous life, one will attract those that seek righteousness.

It’s the example of Philip and The Ethiopian.

 

[mozart-250]

…but I do know what the OP was asking. It was “How do we get Protestants to become Catholics?”

So if I ignore the premise of the question for the moment…

Our pastor teaches that evangelization is a stepwise process.

Our objective when encountering those who do not know Christ is to meet them where they are and to bring them to the next step on their journey. It may not be winning them to Christ immediately.

Think stepwise. For example.

I sometimes think back to a family of Catholic Charismatics that I knew in High School. Wonderful folks that I am looking foreward to seeing in eternity. When I hear someone that just seems too anti-Catholic, I immediately remember the LaPlante family and know that something just doesn’t adds up. They were much more stable than the folks that attended the local non denominational pentecostal/charismatic church.

So I think they were key in bringing me to the “next step” at least in relation to y’all.

 

[JMBNH]

It hit me today at Mass that what Protestants really need to know is not that sola scriptura or sola fide are wrong (which was my former tactic, rather unsuccessfully), but what they’re missing, primarily in the Eucharist, but also in Reconciliation (though with the latter God is not bound by the Sacraments, so it’s much more difficult to say how much they need it, though it would clearly help a lot). How to effectively do this though is another question.

 

[Genesis315]

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith actually discussed this in a recent document:

"Everywhere and always, each Catholic has the right and the duty to give the witness and the full proclamation of his faith. With non-Catholic Christians, Catholics must enter into a respectful dialogue of charity and truth, a dialogue which is not only an exchange of ideas, but also of gifts,[47] in order that the fullness of the means of salvation can be offered to one’s partners in dialogue.[48] In this way, they are led to an ever deeper conversion to Christ.

“In this connection, it needs also to be recalled that if a non-Catholic Christian, for reasons of conscience and having been convinced of Catholic truth, asks to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church, this is to be respected as the work of the Holy Spirit and as an expression of freedom of conscience and of religion. In such a case, it would not be a question of proselytism in the negative sense that has been attributed to this term.[49] As explicitly recognized in the Decree on Ecumenism of the Second Vatican Council, “it is evident that the work of preparing and reconciling those individuals who desire full Catholic communion is of its nature distinct from ecumenical action, but there is no opposition between the two, since both proceed from the marvelous ways of God”.[50] Therefore, the work of ecumenism does not remove the right or take away the responsibility of proclaiming in fullness the Catholic faith to other Christians, who freely wish to receive it.”

vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20071203_nota-evangelizzazione_en.html

 

[Maxply]

. . . you’ve asked the chief question of the 21st century!

It will be interesting to read more responses.

 

[Genesis315]

Also, the hierarchy of truths approach is a good one–this does not mean one truth is more important than another, but that some truths are built on others. So if you try to go straight to discussing one particular truth when you don’t agree yet on the premises underlying it, you’ll get nowhere fast.

For example, talking about Marian devotion with someone who doesn’t understand the idea of the communion of saints first or discussing papal infallibility with someone who doesn’t accept a hierarchical structure of the church, would both be fruitless.

This is why dialogue is key–you have to figure out and understand where you already agree and then build from there.

 

[2ndGen]

…but I do know what the OP was asking. It was “How do we get Protestants to become Catholics?”

So if I ignore the premise of the question for the moment…

Our pastor teaches that evangelization is a stepwise process.

Our objective when encountering those who do not know Christ is to meet them where they are and to bring them to the next step on their journey. It may not be winning them to Christ immediately.

Think stepwise. For example.

I sometimes think back to a family of Catholic Charismatics that I knew in High School. Wonderful folks that I am looking foreward to seeing in eternity. When I hear someone that just seems too anti-Catholic, I immediately remember the LaPlante family and know that something just doesn’t adds up. They were much more stable than the folks that attended the local non denominational pentecostal/charismatic church.

So I think they were key in bringing me to the “next step” at least in relation to y’all.

I’m not a proponent for “evangelizing” to our non-Catholic Christian bretheren.

I believe that we should only seek to fellowship with them.

If they approach us about interest in our faith, then that’s a different story, but for Catholics to attempt to convert non-Catholic Christians to me is now right. We should focus on ourselves and on the perfection of ourselves.

If a person is undoubtedly called by God to do this, then I cannot disagree with that person, but I just don’t see any reason to try to convert anybody who’s already a Christian.

God allows people where He want’s them. I wouldn’t dare suggest that a non-Catholic Christian is any less Christian than we are provided they live lives that are Scripturally based.



I believe in sharing my faith for the purposes of removing false impressions from them, but not in attempting to convert them.

 

[2ndGen]

It hit me today at Mass that what Protestants really need to know is not that sola scriptura or sola fide are wrong (which was my former tactic, rather unsuccessfully), but what they’re missing, primarily in the Eucharist, but also in Reconciliation (though with the latter God is not bound by the Sacraments, so it’s much more difficult to say how much they need it, though it would clearly help a lot). How to effectively do this though is another question.

That was what I refer to as an “enlightment” from God I believe.

We don’t have to ever talk about how someone’s wrong to “show” them what’s right.

Take for example true Muslims. They live beautiful pious righteous lives that I believe God approves of. “How” He judges their not believing in Jesus as we do I cannot make a judgement on, but I believe that He recognizes their hearts and as Romans 2 clearly states, if they live as Christ taught, that would make up for their not believing in Him as we do for He knows there are many that believe in Him as we do, but certainly “don’t” live as He taught.

The “Truth” is the greatest evangelical tool of all time. The world loves Christ (and I do mean the world, even non-Christians) because of His teachings. Many times I’ve heard Hindus and Buddhists and Muslims and even Atheists talk about Him with such reverance because of His teachings.

The Truth is in His words and deeds.

Preach Christ and let everybody else follow the breadcrumbs to where God wants them to be.

 

[2ndGen]

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith actually discussed this in a recent document:

"Everywhere and always, each Catholic has the right and the duty to give the witness and the full proclamation of his faith. With non-Catholic Christians, Catholics must enter into a respectful dialogue of charity and truth, a dialogue which is not only an exchange of ideas, but also of gifts,[47] in order that the fullness of the means of salvation can be offered to one’s partners in dialogue.[48] In this way, they are led to an ever deeper conversion to Christ.

“In this connection, it needs also to be recalled that if a non-Catholic Christian, for reasons of conscience and having been convinced of Catholic truth, asks to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church, this is to be respected as the work of the Holy Spirit and as an expression of freedom of conscience and of religion. In such a case, it would not be a question of proselytism in the negative sense that has been attributed to this term.[49] As explicitly recognized in the Decree on Ecumenism of the Second Vatican Council, “it is evident that the work of preparing and reconciling those individuals who desire full Catholic communion is of its nature distinct from ecumenical action, but there is no opposition between the two, since both proceed from the marvelous ways of God”.[50] Therefore, the work of ecumenism does not remove the right or take away the responsibility of proclaiming in fullness the Catholic faith to other Christians, who freely wish to receive it.”

vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20071203_nota-evangelizzazione_en.html

 

[Preacher_Vern]

Evangelization can be done in any number of ways. Some Catholics join a parish organization or start one that is interested in going door to door to evangelize. Our parish is interested in evangelizing lapsed Catholics and we have made an effort to personally contact them and visit their homes in order to see if there is anything that we can do to help them return to mass and the sacraments.

One way that I evangelize is through my job. In my office I have a couple of bibles on a shelf and a few other items that show that I am a believer. I doubt that there is even one person in my office that is not aware of the fact that I’m Catholic. This creates all kinds of opportunities for people to ask me questions. I have been good friends with all of the evangelicals and baptists that I have had as fellow employees.

The fact that I am a Catholic first, then an American citizen, and then an employee brings the non-Catholics to me. I do not have to make much of an effort to seek them out. Even the agnostics bring up religion in conversations with me. I even get opportunities when an anti-Catholic makes a slam against the Church. Even the pedophile priest scandal has given me numerous opportunities to discuss the faith. What really keeps them coming back is that I root all of my comments and answers in scripture. We pray for one anothers needs and intentions. These kinds of activities form Christian bonds and build bridges. Perhaps someday conversions will come as well.

Catholics have more opportunities to evangelize then they are aware of. Most people that do not evangelize are probably suffering from a lack of confidence and have not developed the necessary skills to deal with people of other faiths. This can change. I was one of those people.

The only thing I can say to you my friend, is you have being and seen the best of the both, I just hope that you have the right one pick out? One thing I do have to give you credit for is you tell others about Jesus better then what a lot of other faiths do.